Date of Award
5-10-2026
Date Published
June 2026
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Communication and Rhetorical Studies
Advisor(s)
Rachel Hall
Keywords
Adinkra Symbols;Autoethnography;Cultural Memory;Decoloniality;Story Circles
Subject Categories
Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
In this thesis, I explore how Ghanaian Adinkra symbols, particularly Sankɔfa and Gye Nyame, function as living expressions of memory, spirituality, and belonging within diasporic life. Drawing on autoethnography, story circles conducted at Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC) in Syracuse, New York, and embodied experience, the study examines how these symbols move beyond decoration to become active tools for remembering, resisting, and reconnecting with ancestral knowledge. Through everyday practices such as dress, ritual, worship, and digital expression, Sankɔfa and Gye Nyame carry memory across generations and geographies, shaping how diasporic subjects understand home, identity, and faith. The research shows that these symbols are not fixed in meaning but adapt as they circulate through diasporic and digital spaces in response to migration, displacement, and changing social contexts. The thesis also incorporates drawings of Sankɔfa and Gye Nyame created by my brother, whose visual interpretations offer an intergenerational perspective on how these symbols are remembered, reimagined, and transmitted. By analyzing the participants’ stories and interweaving it with my own encounters, the study highlights memory as something felt, performed, and embodied rather than solely preserved in archives. Ultimately, the thesis contributes to conversations on diaspora, cultural memory, and decolonial knowledge by demonstrating how African symbols operate as everyday practices of continuity, resistance, and future-making in the Ghanaian diaspora.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Christian, Anthoniet Essien, "Carrying Home Across Oceans: Embodied Adinkra Memory, Decolonial Resistance, and Diasporic Life of Sankɔfa and Gye Nyame" (2026). Theses - ALL. 1005.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/1005
